[Indian Year Book 2022-23]* Indian Year Book Notes | Chapter 6. India and the World

 

Indian Year Book

(2022-23)

Chapter – 6. India and the World

 

The diffi culties of 2020 continued through 2021. Covid-19 became the greatest shock to the international system since World War II. It has been a health catastrophe that has also delivered an enormous economic blow. The second wave of the pandemic in the country tremendously overwhelmed the health infrastructure, and brought a heavy human toll with itself.

 

Vande Bharat Mission

Ø  The pace of our outreach efforts with the Indian diaspora also continued, with characteristic vigour and innovative mechanisms.

Ø  The Vande Bharat mission, launched to repatriate Indian nationals stranded overseas in the wake of the pandemic and global lockdowns, has been the largest exercise of its kind ever undertaken by the government and has demonstrated a capacity to effectively carry out complex humanitarian missions.

Ø  Bilaterally, Prime Minister’s engagements with the United States, France, Japan, Australia, China, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and high level visits to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, as also to the Central Asian Republics, are illustrative of a new phase in the expansion of India’s diplomatic engagements.

 

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

Ø  India acted as a responsible international actor during the crisis by providing Covid-related medical supplies to over 154 countries.

Ø  These included medications such as Hydroxychloroquine and Paracetamol. These supplies were transported in spite of lockdowns and logistical challenges.

Ø  Launched in May 2020, Mission Sagar was India’s initiative to deliver Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and Covid-19 related assistance to the countries in the Indian Ocean region, over three phases.

Ø  Mission Sagar is a major milestone in our engagement with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region.

Ø  MEA, through its Missions, reached out to offer the CoWIN platform as an open-source software free of cost to interested countries.

 

Neighbourhood First

Ø  The Neighbourhood First policy is an effort to accord institutional priority and centrality across all relevant arms of government.

Ø  The policy of putting Neighbourhood First remained one of the fundamental pillars of Indian diplomacy during this period. The SAARC Covid-19 Emergency Fund was created with India contributing USD 10 million.

Ø   India sent consignments of Covid related essential medicines via sea to Maldives and airlifted another 6.2 tons of medicines under Operation Sanjeevani. India also sent Covid related medicines and medical equipment by air to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Ø   In July 2021, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, along with the Bhutanese counterpart, jointly launched BHIM—UPI in Bhutan in a virtual ceremony. With this launch, the payment infrastructures of the two countries are seamlessly connected and will benefi t a large number of tourists and businessmen from India who travel to Bhutan each year.

 

Indo-Pacifi c Policy

Ø  India’s broadening horizons on maritime issues were postulated through presentation of a six-point Indo-Pacifi c policy, reinforcing our concept of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).

Ø  India launched Mission SAGAR, and sent Indian Naval Ship Kesari to Maldives, Mauritius, and Madagascar.

Ø  India played a pioneering role in climate change and global warming issues. As on July 30, 2020, 87 countries had signed the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance and of these 67 had deposited their instruments of ratifi cation.

Ø  The International Solar Alliance was also launched jointly by India and France during COP21 in Paris.

 

Think West

Ø  India’s outreach to the Gulf and West Asian countries has become an increasingly important pillar of foreign policy. Engagement with Africa, both in political and economic terms, has also intensifi ed as never before. The Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme announced by India has benefi tted African nations by extending duty free access to 98.2 per cent of India’s total tariff lines. Thirty-eight African countries benefi t from the DFTP Scheme. India has become the fi fth largest investor in Africa with cumulative investments of USD 54 billion.

 

Neighbourhood

 Afghanistan

Ø  Afghanistan witnessed a tectonic shift in the political, security, and socio-economic situation in 2021 when the Taliban took over the city of Kabul as President Ghani left the country unceremoniously. As a neighbouring country, India has been concerned about the evolving security situation and the external repercussions of events in Afghanistan.

 Bangladesh

Ø  India-Bangladesh relations are multifaceted and have been further strengthened by shared cultural and historical links. During 2020-21, both sides continued to cooperate in several areas including connectivity, capacity building and fi ghting Covid.

Ø  The Maitri Setu Bridge over River Feni in Tripura , was inaugurated jointly by the two PMs in March, 2021. Cargo movement started on the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link in August 2021.

Bhutan

Ø  The multi-dimensional relationship between India and Bhutan was further strengthened during 2020-21.

Ø  Bhutan was the fi rst country to receive vaccines under MEA’s Vaccine Maitri Initiative.

 

Myanmar

Ø  India and Myanmar share historical and people to people ties. Myanmar is India’s land link to ASEAN and a vital component of both India’s “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies. Myanmar’s President visited India twice in 2019 and 2020.

Ø  India wants to strengthen connectivity and infrastructure development in Myanmar and continue with the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. These projects, once implemented, will enhance connectivity with North Eastern Region.

Maldives

Ø  Robust cooperation between India and Maldives was maintained despite the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic.

Ø  indian Air Force airlifted 6.2 tons of medicines from various Indian cities through Operation Sanjeevani in April 2020. In May 2020, the Indian Navy’s INS Kesari supplied 580 tons of food aid under Mission Sagar.

 Pakistan

Ø  India is committed to friendly and mutually benefi cial relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan.

Ø  Following the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, India facilitated repatriation of over 1500 Indian nationals and Long-Term Visa holders (NORI visa) from Pakistan to India and over 1700 Pakistani nationals stranded in India due to induced border restrictions.

Ø  Despite Covid-19 restrictions, the government continues to facilitate the visit of pilgrims as per the 1974 Bilateral Protocol on visit to religious shrines between India and Pakistan.

 

Nepal

Ø  India-Nepal relations derive strength and salience from age-old cultural and religious ties, close people-to-people contacts, multi-faceted economic and development partnership, reinforced by open borders.

Ø  The Memorandum of Understanding on Final Location Survey of the proposed Raxaul-Kathmandu broad gauge railway line was also signed in October 2021. India-Nepal developmental partnership comprises roads, hydropower, transmission line, housing and reconstruction projects.

Ø  India continued providing medical support to Nepal to deal with the pandemic. Under Vaccine Maitri, 2.48 million doses of Covishield vaccines have been provided to Nepal.

 Sri Lanka

Ø  In 2020-21, India’s relations with Sri Lanka further strengthened in consonance with India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policies. A virtual Bilateral Summit held between both the Prime Ministers in September 2020 reviewed progress on all major aspects of the bilateral relations.

 

 Indian Ocean Rim Association

Ø  Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) plays a key role in facilitating dialogue based approaches to seek a safe, secure and stable region that delivers shared prosperity for all. In August 2020, India hosted the 2nd IORA Expert’s Group Meeting on Academics, Science and Technology in August 2020. 

South East Asia and Indo-Pacifi c

Ø  Under India’s Act East Policy (AEP) launched in 2014, India has been engaging robustly with countries in Southeast Asia region, Oceania, Northeast Asia and East Asia. The region is the fulcrum of India’s vision for a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacifi c.

Ø  India-Australia relations are based on shared values of democracy, rule of law, freedom, and respect for international institutions and cover a range of areas including political, strategic, defence and security, economic and commercial, science and technology, education and culture and people to people ties.

Ø   The fi rst-ever Virtual Summit at Prime Minister-level was held with Australia on 4 June 2020.

Ø   India and New Zealand (NZ) have historically shared close and cordial ties. Similarities such as membership of the Commonwealth, common law practices and pursuing shared aspirations of achieving economic development and prosperity through democratic governance systems for diverse communities in both countries provide an excellent backdrop for deepening the friendly ties.

 

East Asia

 China

Ø  In February 2021, the two sides disengaged from the Pangong Tso area. In August 2021, disengagement was completed in the Gogra area. However there are still some outstanding issues that need to be resolved.

Ø  We remain engaged through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest. Both India and China agree that the boundary question is a complex issue which requires patience and have committed to seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution through dialogue and peaceful negotiations.

 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Ø  Since its inception in 1973, the bilateral and diplomatic relations between India and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have been cordial and mutually benefi cent. The Government of India extended medical assistance worth about USD 1 million to DPRK in July 2020.

Japan

Ø  India-Japan relationship has been transformed into a partnership with great substance and purpose and is a cornerstone of India’s Act East Policy and Indo-Pacifi c vision.

United Nations and International Organisations

Ø  India commenced its two year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in January 2021. In August 2021, India held the month-long Presidency of the UN Security Council when the Afghanistan situation erupted. In August 2021, the UN Security Council met thrice to discuss the evolving situation in Afghanistan, resulting in four outcome documents.

Ø  Prime Minister participated in the virtual Climate Adaptation Summit in January 2021 organised by the Government of Netherlands and Global Commission for Adaptation (GCA). India is one of the co-conveners of GCA.

 India and Peacekeeping

Ø  During India’s Presidency of the UNSC in August 2021, EAM presided over the Open Debate on Peacekeeping focussing on the theme of ‘Protecting the Protectors’, including through the use of modern technological tools to enhance the safety and security of Peacekeepers and to aid Peacekeeping Missions to effectuate their mandates effectively and effi ciently.

 Counter Terrorism

Ø  During 2021, despite limitations imposed by Covid 19 pandemic, India continued to hold structured consultations virtually through the mechanism of Joint Working Groups on Counter-Terrorism (JWG CT) with partner countries such as the EU, the US, Australia, the UK, and France.

 

Cyber Diplomacy

Ø  India signed a Framework Arrangement with Australia on cyber and cyber- enabled critical technology cooperation on 4 June 2020 along with a Five- Year Plan of Action to promote an open, free, safe, and secure internet in adherence with international law and to provide an enabling environment to deliver increased prosperity to the two nations. India has also been participating and deliberating on cyber related issues in various regional and multilateral settings.

 Performance Dashboard

Ø  It focuses on target areas capturing all major schemes, programmes and initiatives of the Ministry across fi ve clusters: diaspora engagement, development partnership, international engagement, trade and commerce and citizen services.

 Economic Diplomacy

Ø  India is in the process of concluding its old-generation investment treaties and actively engaged with over 30 countries in negotiating bilateral investment treaties based on the new model treaty of 2015. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has been conducting the PCA-India Conferences and workshops under the ambit of the Host Country agreement. To enable our Missions and Posts abroad to effectively respond to the growing demands of Indian industry and business a website on Economic Diplomacy has been launched.

 

 

 

**********